EVANSTON, Ill. -- A familiar face to fans of Northwestern and women's lacrosse graces the cover of Lacrosse Magazine's upcoming January issue. Three-time All-American and returning Honda Sports Award winner Taylor Thornton is featured on the cover of the national publication and is the subject of an in-depth profile ahead of her senior campaign.

The feature story on Thornton, written by Clare Lochary, traces her rise from a standout youth tennis and lacrosse player in Dallas, Texas, to a leader on back-to-back NCAA championship-winning Northwestern squads and a truly transformational player in the sport of women's lacrosse.

Thornton, who has started all 68 games of her collegiate career, took home IWLCA National Defender of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2011. A year ago, Thornton did it all for the Wildcats with 33 goals, 71 draw controls, 58 ground balls -- tying the NU single-season record -- and 28 caused turnovers. She scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 2012 NCAA Championship game when she snapped a 6-6 tie against Syracuse with under 10 minutes to play, capping her second straight season with IWLCA first-team All-America honors.

Thornton and the 2013 Wildcats will take the field for the first time in the preseason Champion Challenge presented by U.S. Lacrosse Jan. 26-27, before opening the regular season against Massachusetts on Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.